In the early days, Cool Homepages was the go-to source for design inspiration. Today, inspiration is everywhere. We don’t like to limit ourselves to just looking at design websites, so we keep our eyes open and notice all sorts of things – books, magazines, signs, corporate identities, logos.
But when we’re getting super focused and we need some ideas, while avoiding falling into the common design pitfalls, here are six great places to find inspiration:
1. Pinterest
We use Pinterest a lot. We like it because it’s easily searchable, and you can save the pins you’re interested in and file them on different boards so they’re easy to find later. We also like to use hidden boards to create a mood board for clients when working on concepts for a new campaign. If you love a bit of style inspiration, check out Mettro’s Pinterest boards – with ideas from colour palettes and typography to user experience and branding.
2. Behance
This platform is a go-to showcase for creatives to share what they’ve been doing – and therefore, it’s a treasure trove of inspiration where you can see the latest and greatest design from around the globe.
3. Dribbble
Similar to Behance, Dribbble is a show and tell for web designers, graphic designers, illustrators, icon artists, typographers, logo designers and other creative types to share what they are working on. They take screenshots that show their work, process and current projects.
4. Awwwards
This site is a great place to find award-winning work by talented web designers, developers and agencies around the world. There is also space for ‘respectful critiques’ and to share knowledge and experience.
5. Panda 4
This Chrome plug-in pulls in a newsfeed stream with content for designers, developers, and entrepreneurs. The tool aggregates content from Hacker News, Product Hunt, Dribbble, and more.
6. Theme Forest and Creative Market
We love to browse anywhere that sells logos, templates, and design work. These are two of our favourites.
These sites are a great place to start, but like I said, inspiration is everywhere. You just need to notice it!